Rehoboth commissioners revisit patio ordinance arrests

WGMD April 5, 2011

Last summer, numerous businesses in Rehoboth Beach were found in violation of the patio ordinance, which basically says restaurants have to clear their patios of patrons by 11pm. Two business owners were arrested and charged, but the legality of the arrests is being questioned – and now city commissioner Dennis Barbour is looking to have the charges expunged…

The ordinance has been suspended for this coming summer and the city solicitor will look into the issue to see what can be done – and the item placed on a future agenda.

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1.
Truth says:
April 5, 2011 at 7:19 am

I commend Commissioner Barber for admitting that an injustice occurred and that it needs to be “cleaned up”. I think having the criminal records expunged is just the beginning of making their lives “whole again”.
I believe this was really about noise problems and not about having people on the patio. If you read the commissioner’s minutes from past meeting it is clear that the noise monitoring equipment is antiquated(dating back to 2003) and that the Police Department has failed to properly train someone on the use of the equipment. My biggest concern, in light of the recent misconduct allegations regarding DUI evidence, did the Police Department even care that 2 of the establishments were grandfathered in.
Getting rid of the criminal charges is fine, but how do you get back someone’s reputation, embarrassment and lost business after having them falsely arrested.